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Stars explained: * A production of no real merit
with failings in all areas. ** A production showing evidence of not
enough time or effort, or even talent, and which never breathes any real
life into the piece – or a show lumbered with a terrible script. *** A
good enjoyable show which might have some small flaws but has largely
achieved what it set out to do.**** An excellent show which shows a
great deal of work and stage craft with no noticeable or major
flaws.***** A four star show which has found that extra bit of magic
which lifts theatre to another plane. |
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Adolescent angst, lust and laughs
Three's a crowd in this rehearsal picture: Adrian Mole (Alex Powell) left, and Nigel (Matt Preece) with the centre of their lustful interest, Pandora (Charlotte Moseley) The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13¾ - The
Play
The Nonentities The Rose Theatre, Kidderminster **** FOR readers of
the Sue Townsend books this is probably a delight with our . . . sort of
hero, well at least main character, brought to life in his half mast
trousers, 80's turtle neck sweater with its TV test card pattern and a
family which makes merely dysfunctional look normal. If you have never read the books, or even heard of Adrian Mole, then you are still in for a treat with a very funny musical set in the Midlands, complete with Black(ish) Country accents, which gallops along at a fair old pace. Ignorance of the Adrian books is no disadvantage with a play about growing up that stands on its own merits with the odd hint of sadness and despair amid the laughs - and even moments we can all, secretly, identify with. Key to the whole thing is Adrian, the teenager
with a spot on his chin, a mother who thinks fidelity is a manufacturer
of record players, and a crush on Pandora who he loves because of her
personal integrity . . . both of them. Get him wrong and you can have Olivier, Gielgud,
Dame Judi Dench and the very best the RSC, directed by Sir Peter Hall,
can offer filling the other parts and it will still be a train crash –
so a hefty pat on the back for 18-year old Alex Powell who brings Adrian
very much to what is a rather dull life. He is superb. It is a huge
part, hardly ever off stage, and he never put a foot wrong even refusing
to be thrown when a second half sound effect came in too early. Adrian is a gawky, awkward slightly whiny,
adolescent who confuses his lack of street cred, or indeed any sort of
cred, and his ability to write excruciatingly bad poetry as a sign that
he must be an intellectual. His friend, or the nearest he gets to a friend,
is Nigel, played with suitable uneasy arrogance by Matt Preece, who we
are told is the offspring of a maniac and a midget and who sees himself
as some sort of distant (very) relative of The Fonz. Mother Pauline is not what you would call maternal, or indeed faithful, especially as she works her way through Germaine Greer's 1970's bra burners' bible for liberated women, The Female Eunuch. Happy(ish) families: a rehearsal picture of Pauline Mole (Marika Farr), Grandma, (Hilary Thompson), Adrian and George Mole (Bob Graham) Her confusing mix of seduction, being seduced,
attempts at assertion and search for fulfilment is created beautifully
by Marika Farr who apparently was suffering from the effects of
laryngitis on the opening night so Tori Wakeman, from props, sang her
songs off-stage with Marika miming. I mention it only because I suspect
not a soul in the audience would have had a clue, it was that well done. Adrian's dad George, played confidently by Bob
Graham, is not exactly a sex god. If he ever had it, he let it go a long
time ago. He is devastated when Pauline ups and leaves him for the next
door lothario Derek Lucas, played with sickly, smarmy charm by Alan
Minaker. In fact he is devastated enough to get Doreen
Slater around. Doreen played vivaciously by Alex Hyde, is a women with a
certain reputation for having morals which, if not exactly loose, are
certainly slack, and, with her apparent hobby of collecting married men,
is happy to share both George's marriage and his bed. Keeping order is Hilary Thompson as the
battle-axe Mole grandma while escaping is Mrs Lucas, Derek's ex, who
finds love with . . . another woman. “Funny, you don't expect that sort of thing in a
cul-de-sac,” is Pauline's liberated view of lesbianism. And through it all, shining through the domestic
gloom like a beacon of lust, is Pandora, played by Charlotte Moseley who
was 17 last week. Surprisingly for such a confident performance it was
her first time on stage and I suspect no one in the audience would have
guessed that either. On this showing it would be a waste if she did not
become a regular. There was good support from Alan Dzumaga as the local bully Barry Kent, Nick Haynes as the smelly, cantankerous, communist pensioner Bert and Lynn Ravenhill as the randy resident at his care home. Love in a cul-de-sac with Pauline Mole and her neighbourly admirer Derek Lucas (Alan Minaker) A mention too for the costumes which give a
convincing 80s feel along with the glorious set, a sort of two-up,
two-down constructed in a Filofax. No one is down in the programme for its design,
but they should be, and the programme thanks Keith, Mike, Kieran Reeves,
David Goddard for building the thing and they did a cracking job. The four rooms – and a toilet – along with Bert's
roll-in, roll-out OAP flat – allows director Richard Taylor to keep the
action going non-stop. The pace does drop a tad at times in the second
half but that should resolve itself as the week goes on. Well done incidentally to prompt Vilma Watson who
was on the ball on the couple of occasions when opening night lines were
missed. No point trying to hide forgotten lines with inaudible whispers
leaving actors floundering and straining to hear. She was in quickly and
clearly to make sure things were under way again . . . promptly. Adrian and the excellent cast will be will be
recounting his thoughts full of throwaway lines, nice touches and
genuine belly laughs until 17-09-11. Roger Clarke |
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